Analysis of Write by Return
Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)
Clerk, corresponding,
“Rooster and Comb”,
Here I sit idle
“Thinking of home”;
I must be grafting—
Living to earn,
More correspondence,
“Write by return.”
Clerk in employ of
“Shoddy and Woods”,
Thinks that we have not
Forwarded goods.
Parcel we sent them—
Missing, I learn,
Says in his postscript:
“Write by return.”
Here is another
Letter from Bland—
“Cheque he expected
Isn’t to hand.”
How we forgot it
Cannot discern,
“Forward remittance,
Write by return.”
Here is another—
O how they come?
Treats of a “Bender”
Planned by a chum.
See on the margin,
Big letters: “Burn
After perusal—
Write by return.”
Mail in from England,
Letters for me—
Dear little sweetheart
Over the sea.
“Quite broken-hearted,
O how I yearn
Only to see you. . . .
Write by return.”
One who will “never
Think that I’m bad”
Writes me a letter
Tearful and sad.
Thinks that I’m starving,
Filled with concern,
Sends me some money—
“Write by return.”
Letter from father,
Sent to his son,
“All is forgiven—
Fat calf for one.”
O that I ever
Thought he was stern—
Money for passage—
Write by return.
Scheme | abcbadeD xfxfxdxD GhihxdeD GjgjkdcD xlxlidxD gmgmadlD gkkkgdxD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1010 1001 11110 1011 11110 1011 1010 1101 10011 1001 11111 1001 10111 1011 1011 1101 11010 1011 11010 111 11011 1001 10010 1101 11010 1111 11010 1101 11010 1101 10010 1101 10110 1011 1101 1001 11010 1111 10111 1101 11110 1111 11010 1001 11110 1101 11110 1101 10110 1111 11010 1111 11110 1111 10110 1101 |
Closest metre | Iambic dimeter |
Characters | 1,097 |
Words | 195 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 56 |
Letters per line (avg) | 14 |
Words per line (avg) | 3 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 114 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 58 sec read
- 83 Views
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"Write by Return" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/18194/write-by-return>.
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